


Sweeter than Vanilla

by qalcium



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Attempt at Humor, Fluff, Ice Cream Parlors, Implied/Referenced use of Alcohol, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-14 17:41:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11212998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qalcium/pseuds/qalcium
Summary: Hoseok, being his clingy self misses Kihyun and manages to convince him on going on an ice cream run with him.. At 11pm.





	Sweeter than Vanilla

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is my first fic and it honestly took me months to bring myself to publish this as I had a tough time feeling satisfied with it. Please keep in mind that English is not my first language so I apologize for any grammatical/spelling errors! Enjoy!!

Kihyun groans at the pile of papers that lay before him, he massages his temples in a desperate attempt to keep the growing headache at bay. Being a college student was hard, but being a science major was harder– Kihyun deeply regrets his choice of major, he should have just gone with his initial choice, literature.

 _I could be reading books and memorizing vocabulary rather than memorizing formulas– I could actually be enjoying studying and not dread it,_ he thought; but before the exhausted male could finish his mental rant, his phone began to ring– an abrupt intrusion to the once quiet atmosphere. His eyes landed on the caller’s ID, he gulped, it was Shin Hoseok, his best friend. Kihyun cursed himself for the millionth time for catching feelings for him.

Kihyun picked up after the first two rings, he also chose to ignore his sudden rampaging heart.

  
 _“Kihyun! Hey!”_ Hoseok greeted on the other side of the line, tone enthusiastic and practically dripping with sunshine and joy– Kihyun could already sense his worries from thirty seconds ago melt away and disappear. Hoseok had _that_ effect on him.

“Hey,” Kihyun says. “What’s up with you? You sound like you just ate the best bowl of ramen in your life.” He tried to sound as mundane as possible, he couldn’t let Hoseok know he was a little too happy that he called. That man has enough ego to last him lifetimes.

 _“Ah, maybe,”_ The other male laughed in response. _“I’m just happy you finally turned your phone on, in like, what, forever?”_

Kihyun had turned his cellphone off the moment he started studying yesterday, to avoid any distractions. He had essays due on Monday and he could not afford his GPA dropping over a measly gadget; He only turned it back on a few hours ago, when his roommate– Hyungwon, gave him an earful about not answering his calls when he badly needed someone to pick him up when he was wasted. Kihyun questioned why anyone would voluntarily get heavily intoxicated at six in the evening, but decided not to press on it. Hyungwon was irritable enough sober, he didn't want to cross a drunken Hyungwon.

“It’s only been a day, Hoseok,” Kihyun rolled his eyes. “And you know I have midterms starting on Monday, I need to study as much as I can.. Besides, you have plenty of other friends to hang out with when I’m not around.”

Hoseok let out a dramatic gasp, and Kihyun tried not to roll his eyes out of his sockets. _“It’s been a day and_ five hours! _You liar.”_ Kihyun could sense the male pout at this.

 _“And it doesn’t matter if I have other friends aside from you,”_ Hoseok trailed off. _“You’re Kihyun, and no one will be able to take your place. Ever.”_

A smile crept onto Kihyun’s face at the latter’s statement, Hoseok was _disgustingly_ cute at times.

Kihyun propped his chin on his hand. “And what exactly are you proposing that strictly requires _my_ presence _only_?”

 _“An ice cream run!”_ Hoseok chirped.

Hoseok could certainly be cute, but he definitely does _not_ come up with the brightest ideas.

“Hoseok, it’s eleven.” Kihyun deadpanned.

 _“Yeah I know,”_ Hoseok counters. _“But there’s this new ice cream parlor right by campus, they don’t close up until twelve.”_

Kihyun pondered on the offer; a break from studying would do him wonders, plus, he missed his cheerful friend—perhaps even more than he should.

 _“Please?”_ The boy speaks up once again. _“I’ve been wanting to go with you since it opened—which was yesterday, by the way. But your phone was turned off, and I couldn’t reach you.”_ Hoseok sounded like a kicked puppy, and Kihyun felt guilty for a split second, despite never even deciding against the proposal. Hoseok had _that_ effect on him..

“Okay, okay!” Kihyun sighed, though he doesn’t know why. “I’ll get ready and meet you by the dorm entrance in ten.”

 _“Great! I’ll meet you there then.”_ Hoseok says gleefully. _“See you then, Princess~”_ Then he hangs up, which leaves Kihyun in silence once again.

Kihyun checked the time, it read 11:07pm. He had ten minutes to get ready before heading to their meeting place.

He stood up from where he was sitting, stretching and mewling all in an attempt to untangle the knots in his muscles. He made his way to his closet, paying no heed to his messy desk, Kihyun hates clutter– but he had no time to tend to it.

"Where are you going?" Hyungwon asks from his twin-sized bed, legs sprawled across the mattress in an awkward manner. Kihyun always questioned how his lanky figure managed to sleep in such a small bed.

"I'm meeting up with Hoseok." Kihyun replied curtly as he scoured his wardrobe for something appropriate to wear.

He picked out a black parka that was hidden in the far back of his closet and layered it over his sweater, he decided to go with the pair of jeans he already had on. Kihyun combed his hair with his hands, pushing his fringe back in the manner Hoseok liked; He would always push Kihyun’s fringe up whenever he got the chance to. ‘That makes you look hot.’ he once said. Kihyun tried his best not to let his feelings for the male influence his decisions, but tonight, he decided to just fuck it.

"How do I look? Do I look okay?" Kihyun turned to face his roommate, who was still sprawled on his bed.

"You look like shit." Hyungwon replied.

"You always say that," Kihyun groaned. Hyungwon could be such a dick. "Now actually open your eyes and look at me, please?"

Hyungwon sighed but obeyed nonetheless, he scanned Kihyun from top to bottom, taking in his outfit and hairstyle, it seemed effortless, but damn did he think he looked good– too good for someone who barely spent five minutes on his appearance; But Hyungwon being his aloof self obviously couldn't tell his roommate that. Not after saying Kihyun looked like shit.

  
"Well," Hyungwon trailed off. "On a scale of one to ten, you look like a four." He said offhandedly. Kihyun didn't look amused.

"Hey, that's a huge upgrade from your two out of ten a few weeks ago." Hyungwon countered, ignoring Kihyun’s glare piercing through him. Growing tired, he turned to his left, facing the wall. "Now go meet your boyfriend, I wanna sleep this headache away."

"He isn't my boyfriend." Kihyun rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time.   
Hoseok wasn’t his boyfriend, but he wished he was.

  
Before Kihyun headed out, he asked Hyungwon to lock the door behind him– to which the latter merely groaned to, but complied anyway.

-

The moment Kihyun stepped out of the building, he was met with the cool Autumn breeze. He felt himself unwind both physically and mentally, his tense muscles relaxing under November's touch. His worries ebb away into oblivion with every thrust of the wind– he made a mental note to go out for some fresh air more often, it was a stark contrast to the dorm's stuffy atmosphere. Kihyun welcomed the tranquility.

Despite it being a Saturday evening, the campus was eerily silent. No blasting music emitted from the dorms, and it was almost desolate outside, Kihyun spotted only a handful of students, either sitting on benches or by trees, and most of them had a textbook perched up on their lap; Kihyun sighed, it was truly midterm week.

  
A few minutes pass with Kihyun playing around with his phone before Hoseok shows up, the male was adorning a pair of navy skinny jeans that was torn by the knees and thighs, he wore an oversized jersey that hung loosely on his shoulders; Kihyun took him in from head to toe, Hoseok looked like he had just come out of a Shoujo Manga.

“Hey.” Hoseok smiled warmly. “I’m sorry I must have kept you waiting, it’s freezing out here..” A guilty expression plastered his face.

“Not at all, I just got here.” Kihyun smiled back. “Besides, it’s not like our   
destination will make me any warmer.. We are gonna get ice cream..”

Hoseok fidgeted sheepishly. “So let’s get going then?”

“Obviously.” Kihyun grinned.

Hoseok reached for Kihyun’s hand from his coat and was surprised to be met with cold skin. “You said you just got here..” Hoseok pouted, reaching for the latter’s other hand and clasping his against Kihyun’s freezing ones.

“You know I’m sensitive to the cold, it’s no big deal.” Kihyun assured, feeling his cheeks heat up.

 

  
It was a chilly evening, but Hoseok kept Kihyun warm inside.

-

The pair walked into the ice cream parlor, it was strangely spacious, unlike the other stores by campus. The parlor had bright, pale yellow walls that were striped with pink and lilac. It had about dozens of seats, enough to fill the space. Kihyun thought that the place felt comfy.

Parallel to the entrance laid the ice cream display and cashier, Kihyun recognized the familiar face, that baby-like face with deep dimples and cinnamon brown hair. “Jooheon!” Hoseok greeted, already walking towards their friend.

Kihyun broke out into a bright smile. “You work here!? Why didn’t you tell us?”

“How did you get hired?” Hoseok added.

The employee, Jooheon, responded to the pair with a smile just as bright as Kihyun’s. “It's nothing worth bragging about, really; and my parents are friends with the guy who owns the place, so they practically begged him to hire me even before they opened this place.” Jooheon chuckled. “It seems they don’t want to pay as much for my expenses anymore. Can’t blame them, besides, it’s about time I make my own pocket money.”

“I’m glad you got hired then– is the pay good?” Hoseok asked conversationally, casually winking at his mention of money.

“It is actually, since I’m the only employee here so far, it means I have to do pretty much everything on my own.” Jooheon pouted at the last statement.

“If you guys are looking for an extra hand, I’m up for the job. My looks are a plus of course, I’ll be able to attract quite a number of customers.” Hoseok said cheekily, to which Kihyun merely made a gagging noise in response to.

“Get over yourself, loser.” Kihyun said curtly.

Jooheon giggled. “I’d love to join in on bullying you, Hoseok, but if you came here for ice cream then you guys better hurry, we close up in twenty minutes.” Jooheon said, motioning the pair to the ice cream display.

“So, which flavor do you want?” Hoseok asks, studying the glass display that covered a plethora of ice cream flavors.

Kihyun surveyed the options that lay ahead of him and landed his eyes on a certain flavor. “Mint-chocolate.” He looked back to Hoseok and smiled. A forced, toothy smile.

Hoseok groaned. “Kihyun, you always pick that, haven’t you grown tired of it? Come on, there are dozens of other flavors to pick from.” Hoseok crossed his arms playfully. Kihyun narrowed his eyes in response.

“What?” Hoseok asked.

“What about _you_ , you _always_ pick hazelnut. You’re so boring, Hoseok.” Kihyun spat back.

Hoseok scoffed. “At least I don’t eat toothpaste flavored ice cream.”

Jooheon made a pained face at the bickering pair. “You guys are being so gross, just hurry up and settle for a flavor. Have your lover’s quarrel later.”

Kihyun and Hoseok rolled their eyes simultaneously at Jooheon’s remark.

“Fine, a scoop of mint-chocolate ice cream and a scoop of vanilla.” Kihyun said, pointing to his choice of flavors. He heard Hoseok murmur _‘Basic’_ under his breath but chose to ignore him.

Hoseok eyed the options ahead of him. “It’s hazelnut and strawberry for me.”

“Okay~” Jooheon said gleefully as he scooped pints of ice cream into medium-sized paper cups.

-

Kihyun and Hoseok sat in one of the corners of the parlor, far from Jooheon’s view, which gave them some privacy–though, Kihyun didn’t quite think they needed it.

“Can I have a taste of that?” Hoseok asked rhetorically, leaning on the table to get a scoop of Kihyun’s mint-chocolate ice cream. Hoseok made a face while eating it, as if rating the flavor.

Kihyun rested chin on his hand. “It doesn’t really taste like toothpaste now, does it?” He smirked.

“Far from it. It actually tastes decent.” Hoseok replied, almost murmuring the rest of the sentence– he didn’t want to give Kihyun the satisfaction. His brain screamed _Petty_.

Silence stretched between the two, both too indulged in their desert to speak. Though, the silent wasn’t awkward at all, it was the kind of silence that was comfortable.

Hoseok was first to break the silence. “Can I have a taste of that?” He asked; this time, unrhetorical. Kihyun raised a brow in question.

“ _That_.” Hoseok motioned to the smudge of vanilla ice cream that was by Kihyun’s bottom lip.

Without waiting for the latter to answer, Hoseok carefully leaned in to Kihyun, searching his eyes for any sense of defiance or discomfort— he found none.

Hoseok licked the smudge of vanilla off of Kihyun’s bottom lip, focusing on Kihyun’s taste more than the ice cream. Warm, Hoseok thought. His lips are soft and warm.

  
Taken aback by the action, Kihyun felt a surge of heat across his body, every one of his senses heightened. He felt his cheeks tint a shade of red, but he didn’t pull away, he liked the sensation, he felt electrified.

But to Kihyun’s disappointment, Hoseok pulled away as fast as he had come, leaving Kihyun in a flurry of embarrassment and want.

Hoseok made the same thinking face he made a while ago when he stole a scoop from Kihyun’s ice cream, and Kihyun grew more confused by the second by the male’s antics.

“Sweeter than vanilla.” Hoseok smiled, a genuine, warm smile. Kihyun let that warmth fill his heart.

Puzzled, Kihyun repeated the sentence. “Sweeter than vanilla..?” He cocked his head to one side. “What?”

“You.” Hoseok giggled at Kihyun’s expression. “ _You’re_ sweeter than vanilla.”

 

Hoseok wasn’t Kihyun’s boyfriend, but he was _way_ more than that. 

**Author's Note:**

> Firstly, thank you for taking the time to read this mess, and secondly, I appreciate commentary of any kind, so please drop your thoughts and responses!! I sincerely hope you guys enjoyed this! ♡♡


End file.
